Alas, despite a tremendous all-around effort on the part of South Carolina State, it is now nine seasons and counting since a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference team won an FCS first-round playoff game. Armanti Edwards passed out of his mind and the Bulldogs clean out of the playoffs as three-time defending champion Appalachian State took a 37-21 victory at home and will continue their march for a fourth-straight FCS title.
Meanwhile, the MEAC continues to have some up and down performances on a larger stage, and as a DSU alum, I can agree that SCSU represented the conference much better this year than the Hornets did in 2007 at the University of Delaware. Yet, something seemed incredibly different about this year’s MEAC winner, making its first postseason appearance since 1982. They were confident, undaunted by the task of battling the dragon slaying-Mountaineers, who of course began Michigan’s epic spiral with an Opening Day upset last season.
The Bulldogs and their fans believed THEY could be the Upset Kids, and for three and a half quarters, they certainly gave ASU a run for their money. While a different play call here or there could’ve turned the tide of the game, the fact is on this day, Appalachain State was the better team…but not by much.
And so the countdown to the 2009 season begins. Even though the SWAC still has their championship game left to play, it’s incredible to think that four or five HBCUs had at least an outside shot at a playoff spot. Tennessee State had a respectable year, as did Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M, the latter under the direction of new head coach Joe Taylor. Prarie View A&M, once the laughingstock of HBCU football, turned in a 9-1 season, and only missed the SWAC title game because of a coin flip (that’s another story for another day).
So the question has to be asked – can there be TWO HBCU teams in the post-season party in 2009? Well quite frankly, it’s a little early to tell since we’re just about finished with 2008, but it’s never too early to guess and play around with some situations, so here goes.
Florida A&M: Fantastic start to the Taylor era as the Rattlers went 9-3 and put a hurting on the Wildcats in the Florida Classic. However, two things hurt FAM’s drive for a post-season berth. 1) Their homecoming loss to Morgan State University and 2) Tennesee State missing out on the playoffs.
The Rattlers’ win over the Tigers two months ago would’ve looked great to the FCS playoff committee if the Tigers hadn’t fallen out of the Ohio Valley Conference title chase late in the season. The Morgan State loss probably hurt more as the Bears also slumped late in the season after beating some of the MEAC’s better teams early in the season.
What Florida A&M will need to do in ‘09, especially since the 12th game option is not on the table for that season, is schedule one heavy hitter outside of their appointed dates with Southern and Tennessee State next year. Maybe a game with UCF or USF or perhaps a FBS school outside of Florida and a good showing there could do the trick. Of course another solid showing in conference play wouldn’t hurt either.
Tennessee State: Oh so close, but oh so far away for the Tigers in 2008, as a two game slide at the end of the campaign, courtesy of Jacksonville State and Murray State, ended their playoff hopes. One wouldn’t think the Tigers would have to change much to make the postseason next year, but who they return in key positions remains to be seen.
Prarie View A&M: Well, to go 9-1 less than 15 years after an 80-game losing streak is a noteworthy acheivement in itself, but the poor Panthers were screwed out of at least a chance at the SWAC west title by of all things, a coin flip. If Southern had beat Grambling in today’s Bayou Classic (which didn’t happen), all three teams would’ve been 6-1 and if the coin ended up in PVA&M’s favor, they would have the option of going to the SWAC title game, or the FCS playoffs if they were invited, and indications were the Panthers would be invited.
Only thing Prarie View has to do for ‘09 is beat Grambling and Southern to win the West, maybe schedule someone a little larger than Texas College and who knows? It would make for an interesting conversation to say the least.
South Carolina State: After exorcising the ghosts of Pirates’ and Hornets’ past, the Bulldogs gave App State a fight before falling in the final seven-plus minutes of their FCS first round game. MEAC observers, fans and alumni all agree that SCSU’s the team to beat in 2009. Quarterback Malcolm Long will be back, as will record-setting running back Will Ford. Several members of that nasty State defense will be returning as well, and with a playoff game under his a belt, hopefully a wiser and more calculated Buddy Pough will be patrolling the SCSU sidelines.
They’ve already scheduled the big dogs, they’ve run the table in conference and earned their playoff spot. Now the only thing the Bulldogs need to get back to the post season next year is hunger. And after an upset just eluded their grasp this afternoon, you can bet they’ll have plenty of that.
